The utilization of evaporative cooling for reducing air temperature is an old and well known art. Typically, cooler pads of various configurations are either partially immersed in water or have water sprayed thereon while relatively warm and low moisture air is passed through the pad causing evaporation and thus effectively reducing the temperature of the air as it exits the pad. As indicated above, the pads may take a variety of configurations and in some instances may be mounted for movement so that a portion of the pad is continuously immersed in water. For example, the use of a cylindrical drum shape for a cooler pad is known in the prior art; a portion of the pad may be immersed in water or water may be directed in some other manner onto the pad. The air to be evaporatively cooled is drawn through the pad from the inside or outside of the cylinder. While such configurations provide numerous advantages, they nevertheless are inherently difficult to maintain.
One of the chief drawbacks of an evaporative system is the necessity for frequently servicing the cooler pads. When the pads are formed into a cylinder and mounted for rotation as described above, the removal of the pads becomes very cumbersome. The difficulty encountered during the frequent servicing of the cooler pads renders the cylindrical configuration particularly inconvenient.